


The Visitor

by summers-maclay-lehane (ofstormsandwolves)



Series: Sunnydale 2019 [8]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25268305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofstormsandwolves/pseuds/summers-maclay-lehane
Summary: A visitor comes to Sunnydale with less than welcome news for Buffy, and the Scoobies reassess their opinion of parental figures.
Relationships: Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers, Rupert Giles/Joyce Summers
Series: Sunnydale 2019 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1377481
Kudos: 37





	The Visitor

When the school year finally drew to a close, it meant one thing for Buffy and her friends; they needed to find somewhere new to hang out.

“You mean we finally get to hang somewhere other than this musty library?” Faith asked as they discussed the issue at hand a few days before the end of term.

“Hey,” Giles grumbled from where he was scanning books at the counter, “less of the musty.” He gave the girl a small smirk, which she returned.

“We _can_ hang out places other than the library, Faith. We _do_.” Buffy arched an eyebrow at her girlfriend.

“Yeah,” Faith shrugged, “but you never wanna hang where _I_ wanna hang.”

As Buffy rolled her eyes, Willow and Xander shared a look. Faith didn’t notice, seeing as she was sat on the table rather than on one of the half dozen chairs around it.

“Well, we’re just not entirely sure the cemetery is a particularly fun place to hang out,” Willow answered carefully.

Faith smirked. “Why not? Scared?”

As Willow’s gaze skittered away from the brunette, Xander interrupted quickly.

“Well, the cemetery might be all kinds of spooky fun,” he said agreeably. “But Buffy’s place has snacks.”

Buffy watched in amusement as her girlfriend seemed to consider this for a moment. “You know what, Xan,” Faith said after a moment. “I think you’re onto something.”

“Well I hope you four aren’t planning on spending _all_ summer inside,” Giles told them as he headed across the library to put some books on the shelves behind the table. “I’m not sure we have quite enough food to sustain you all for that long.”

“There’s always the Bronze, right?” Faith shrugged, looking to the others as she spoke.

“Yeah,” Xander agreed slowly, “but are you even allowed out?” Faith frowned at the boy, and he smirked back. “I mean, what with your little slime prank the other day...”

“Ooh,” Buffy said, lighting up at the memory, “did you see Cordelia’s face?”

“And Snyder’s,” Willow added with a grin.

Faith was looking rather smug as they recalled her most recent prank, and Giles eyed the children carefully for a moment as they talked about it.

“And how exactly did Gwen take this news?” he interrupted calmly. “From what I hear, three of the lockers need replacing.”

The chatter died down, and Faith at least had the decency to look a little chastised. “The lockers were old,” she shrugged, “they needed replacing anyway. Besides, I only _helped_ with the slime. It was Gage’s idea.”

“Gage from the swim team?” Willow asked with a frown. “You didn’t mention that.”

Faith shrugged again. “The idiot didn’t even know how to make the slime. It came in a kit with instructions, and he didn’t know how to make slime. The guy’s an idiot.”

“So does this mean you _can_ Bronze it with us?” Buffy asked hopefully. “If Gwen knows it wasn’t entirely your fault?”

“Probably,” Faith admitted. “She’s still annoyed, but it’s not like I was the one who came up with the idea.”

Giles shook his head then, moving away as the children began to excitedly talk about all the bands they’d heard might be playing at the club over the summer break. When the bell finally rang signalling the end of lunch, he fixed them with a look.

“It might be the last few days of term, but you still have to attend your lessons you know,” he told them pointedly.

With varying groans- except from Willow, who seemed to bounce out of her seat quite happily- the kids grabbed their bags and headed towards the doors.

“I can still get a ride home after school, right?” Buffy said suddenly, stopping in the doorway to face her step-father.

Giles sighed, but nodded. “I’m guessing you three will be wanting a lift home too?”

“Might as well,” Faith said. “We’re coming to yours for dinner!”

The kids headed out through the library doors then, their voices carrying down the rapidly emptying corridors. At the thought of having all four teenagers at the house all evening, Giles shook his head.

“Well,” he said to himself, looking around the deserted library, “I suppose I’d better enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts.”

* * *

Two weeks later, summer break was in full swing and Giles was desperately missing the comfort of the high school library. Joyce was still at the gallery, and so it was just Giles who was stuck with four teenagers under foot. He was starting to find that he was actually hoping they would follow Faith’s suggestion of exploring one of Sunnydale’s dozen cemeteries, just so he could get a break from them all.

They had, of course, gone out to the Bronze several times, but apparently the novelty of going to the club had quickly worn off after several nights in a row of going to the same place. And for reasons Giles couldn’t even begin to understand, the park, Maple Court, and the arcade were not ‘cool enough’ to entertain his step-daughter and her friends. Hence why they had taken over Revello Drive.

He supposed he should have been relieved that they at least spent a good chunk of their day outside in the garden. From cheap water guns they’d bought at the newly-opened dollar store, to the football they’d tossed around for nearly an hour, Giles hoped it was enough for them to burn off some energy.

“We’re ordering pizza!” 

Buffy’s shout drew a sigh from Giles, and he dropped the book he was reading onto the dining table as he got to his feet.

“Is that really a good idea?” he responded loudly as he headed into the kitchen.

He was met by four crestfallen teenagers, all blinking at him like he’d run over their puppy. Buffy had frozen with her mobile in her hand and the app for the nearest pizza place open on the screen.

“Well it sounded like a good idea to us,” Xander admitted, trying for levity.

“Are your parents not expecting you home for dinner in a few hours?” Giles countered. “And do you really have the money for pizza?”

Willow furrowed her brow. “Well, we _think_ we have enough money,” she said, sounding uncertain.

Almost on cue, the four teenagers began piling money onto the kitchen counter, counting out the amount of cash they had on them. When they’d finished counting, Faith let out a yell of delight.

“Hell yeah! We’ve definitely got enough for pizza!”

“And what about dinner?” Giles repeated, feeling as though he wasn’t really being listened to.

“Oh,” Xander said dismissively, “I have to get my own dinner anyway. Apparently turning sixteen means you have to feed yourself in the Harris family.” He gave an awkward laugh at that, and Giles couldn’t help but feel a little angry for the boy.

“And, and, my parents are out of town,” Willow added. “At a conference.”

Faith flashed Giles a grin. “And I told Gwen I was having dinner here.”

Throwing his hands up in defeat, the librarian shook his head. “Fine,” he said, before pointing to his step-daughter. “But I’m making it clear to your mother that I never agreed to this.”

Buffy simply smiled back, and moments later the teens were crowded round Buffy’s cell phone choosing their pizza.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, a knock at the door sent the teens scrambling. They’d settled themselves in the front room, television switched on even though the seemed to be talking over whatever it was they were watching. Giles winced as frantic footsteps sounded in the hallway before there was a thud as someone collided with the door. Moments later, the front door was open, and Giles heard Faith speak.

“You’re not the pizza guy.”

“N- No,” came the response. “I’m looking for Buffy Summers?”

Giles froze at the voice, and it took him a moment or two to prompt himself into moving. Doing so quickly, he joined Faith at the front door, and surveyed the man on the porch carefully.

“Hank,” he greeted tensely. “What can I do for you?”

Faith had gone completely stiff beside him, but Giles ignored the wide-eyed look the teenager was giving him. Hank looked rather unhappy to see him, and fixed Giles with a cold look.

“Rupert. I’m here to see my daughter.”

Giles opened his mouth to speak then, but Faith beat him to it.

“Yeah, well B doesn’t want to see you. You’re a shit dad and she’s got Giles anyway, so you can just go.”

“Faith, it’s fine.” 

Both Faith and Giles turned at the sound of Buffy’s tired voice. She was leaning against the sitting room doorway, arms folded across her chest and a resigned expression on her face.

“B,” Faith protested, shaking her head, “he didn’t even bother sending you a birthday card. You haven’t seen him in months!”

Hank cleared his throat pointedly then, drawing the attention back to him. “I don’t know who you are,” he said, glaring at Faith, “but I really don’t see how this concerns you.”

Jaw clenched, Faith moved to get in Hank’s face, but Giles grabbed hold of her arm and hauled her back. Pursing his lips, Hank looked past Giles and Faith to his daughter, and fixed her with a tight smile.

“Buffy, perhaps it’s best if we talk outside?”

With one final glance at her girlfriend and step-dad, Buffy pushed away from the wall and headed for the front door.

* * *

“What do you think he wants?” Willow asked, squinting out the sitting room window.

The three teens had their noses practically pushed up against the glass as they spied on Buffy and her father. 

“God knows,” Faith grumbled. “But I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him.”

“Yeah,” Xander agreed. “And he’s making Buffy’s pizza get all cold and eaten.”

It was true. The pizza had arrived not long after Hank’s appearance, and while Faith, Xander, and Willow had tucked in at Buffy’s insistence, there was a good chance Buffy wouldn’t get more than a slice or two.

“Maybe you should stop eating it, then,” Willow pointed out with an arched eyebrow.

“And maybe,” Giles spoke up from the doorway, “the three of you should give Buffy some privacy.”

The teens hurried away from the window with burning cheeks, looking rather guilty.

“You can’t be ok with this,” Faith insisted as she flopped onto the sofa.

Giles sighed. “I’m ok with whatever Buffy’s ok with.”

“Very diplomatic,” Willow assured with a smile.

“Diplomatic,” Giles agreed with a tilt of his head, “or foolish. But if Buffy wants her father to be in her life, then I’m alright with that.”

Faith snorted. “Well, I’m not.”

Giving the teen a sympathetic smile, he turned to leave. “Yes, well. I’d better let Joyce know Hank’s in town.”

* * *

“I know this must be somewhat of a surprise,” Hank said a little awkwardly, watching as Buffy blinked out at the front yard.

“Surprise?” Buffy echoed with an awkward laugh. “Dad, you just told me you’re married.”

Hank said nothing, and Buffy shook her head at him.

“Why now? Why did you tell me now?” she asked, voice quiet and angry. 

“I thought you were old enough to know the truth,” he shrugged, not looking at her. “You’re sixteen; you’re not a child anymore.”

Buffy snorted. “Not that you’d know anything about that. I haven’t seen you in over a year, Dad.”

“I know, I know. And I’m sorry I forgot your birthday, honey, but you didn’t exactly try to contact me either.”

At that, the sixteen year old gave him an incredulous look. “ _You’re_ the parent! It’s not _my_ job to contact _you_.” She huffed out a sigh and stared out across the front yard again. “Just admit it, Dad; you’re only here because you feel guilty.”

Before Hank could respond to the accusation, however, a familiar Jeep pulled into the driveway. Both father and daughter stiffened, and as Joyce stepped out of the car with a furious expression on her face, Hank reached into his pocket.

“I’ve got a new phone number,” he told Buffy, his eyes still on Joyce as he spoke. “Call me, if you want to talk.”

He pressed the card into her hands and moved towards the porch steps, but was cut off by Joyce.

“Hank,” she greeted tersely. “Why didn’t you call to say you were in town?”

“I was passing through the area,” he responded, voice equally tense. “I thought I’d stop in for a few minutes to see my daughter. It’s not a crime, is it?”

Joyce folded her arms across her chest, fixing him with a look. “You haven’t seen or spoken to her in months, Hank. You missed her birthday. You sent one lousy Christmas present the Christmas before last that she didn’t even like.”

Frowning at that, Hank turned to Buffy. “You don’t like the Rams?”

“She doesn’t like _football_ , Hank,” Joyce snapped. “She only went to school matches because she was on the cheer team.”

Buffy stood on the porch, arms wrapped around herself and her father’s business card crumpling in her fist as she fought back tears. It was just like being a little kid again, listening to her parents argue, and she didn’t know what to do. Part of her wanted to just yell at them to stop, to shut up. Part of her wanted to reassure her dad she’d liked the Rams jersey he’d sent her, even if it was far too big and she didn’t exactly follow football. And part of her wanted to just bury herself in her mom’s arms and cry until she was exhausted.

But before she could do any of those things, the front door opened, and Giles appeared in the doorway.

“Buffy, why don’t you come in and eat your pizza before it gets too cold,” he said pointedly, sending a glare towards Hank and Joyce.

Buffy looked to her mother at that, who nodded at her to do as Giles said, and she moved to head inside. Behind her, Hank snorted.

“Come to stick your nose in? Come to offer your unwanted opinions about how I should parent my own daughter?”

Once Buffy was inside, Giles pointedly shut the front door. He knew it wouldn’t stop the children from hearing if things got too loud, and he knew it wouldn’t stop them spying on the adults from the window, but he could at least try and shield them from the worst of it.

“No,” Giles stated, struggling to keep his temper in check, “I came to check on Buffy.”

Hank shook his head with a derisive laugh, clearly unconvinced. “Sure you did. You know, from the moment you started dating Joyce you’ve been trying to poison Buffy against me.”

“Hank,” Joyce cut in, growing irritated, “Rupert didn’t poison Buffy against you. You did that yourself.” That earned her an irritated look from her ex-husband, but she pressed on regardless. “From the moment Rupert and I told you we were engaged, you were missing visits with Buffy, cancelling plans last minute, even forgetting her birthday! You were so convinced that Rupert was replacing you that you punished Buffy for something that wasn’t even happening. She was twelve years old, Hank! All she knew was that her dad wasn’t there for her! So yes, she started relying more on Rupert, and yes Rupert perhaps replaced you in some ways, but that’s only because you let it happen! You, you put zero effort into your relationship with your daughter, and then you wonder why she wants nothing to do with you!”

* * *

Inside the house, Buffy sat on the stairs and tried hard to block out the sounds of her parents arguing outside. She could hear the low, concerned voices of her friends in the sitting room, and she knew she should probably go and join them but she really wasn’t sure she wanted the company.

“B?”

Faith’s voice was soft, but it still startled Buffy. Lifting her head from where it had been in her hands, she saw her girlfriend standing nervously in the sitting room doorway, a plate with three slices of pizza on it in her hands.

“We saved you some pizza,” Faith continued quietly. “I even fought off Xander to get you an extra slice.”

Buffy tried to smile at that, but found she wasn’t quite able to. “I’m not hungry,” she said after a moment. “You guys can eat it.”

Faith frowned at that, and moved to join Buffy on the stairs. “You sure I can’t tempt you?” she said as she sat beside her girlfriend, holding the plate out to her.

Outside, Hank and Joyce were still arguing, and apparently Hank hadn’t taken too well to Joyce telling him he was to blame for being replaced by Giles. Occasionally, Giles himself seemed to join in, apparently trying to dispel the argument, but from the continued raised voices it seemed he wasn’t being very successful.

Faith wrapped an arm around Buffy’s shoulders, pulling her in close for a hug, and it was only then that Buffy realised she was crying.

“He didn’t even come to see _me_ ,” Buffy admitted softly. “He only came because he feels guilty.” She swallowed, met her girlfriend’s eyes. “He’s married, Faith. He’s, he’s got this whole other life I didn’t even know about, that he didn’t include me in. What am I supposed to do with that?”

Faith bit her lip, and pulled Buffy closer so she could drop a kiss on the blonde’s head. She had no idea what to say, how to reassure her. Her home life was about as fucked as Buffy’s when it came to parents. Ok, so she had Gwen, who could be pretty cool if a little strict, but as for biological parents? Hers were as shitty as Buffy’s dad seemed to be, if not worse. She didn’t exactly feel equipped to be giving her girlfriend advice.

“Buffy?” Willow called cautiously from the sitting room. “Everything alright?”

“Give us a minute, red,” Faith called back, rubbing Buffy’s back as she pulled away a little to see her girlfriend’s face.

While Buffy’s face was a little tear-streaked and red, there was nothing major that needed sorting, and Faith knew that Willow and Xander would know better than to comment. As Buffy’s sobs finally faded and the arguing outside seemed to fizzle out, Faith fixed Buffy with a look.

“You wanna face the others, or should I kick them out?” she asked seriously.

The blonde let out a sigh, before shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she admitted, and for a moment Faith thought she was going to start crying again. “I’m kinda exhausted, what with Dad just showing up and dumping this new marriage on me, but I also don’t wanna just kick Will and Xander out.”

Faith thought for a moment. “Why don’t we put a movie on or something? We can just snuggle on the sofa and watch some god-awful action flick and not talk.”

Buffy seemed to brighten a little at the idea, and she nodded. Getting to her feet, Faith was just pulling Buffy up as the front door opened. Joyce entered, looking more than a little wrung-out and frustrated, and Giles followed behind not looking much better.

“Oh, honey,” Joyce sighed when she saw her daughter. She held her arms out and Buffy moved towards her gratefully, accepting the hug.

Faith watched the hug with a small frown, before turning her attention to Giles. “Has he gone?”

Giles glanced towards his wife and step-daughter before giving a nod. “Hank had to get back to Los Angeles,” he said, and something in his voice told Faith that that was nothing more than a smokescreen. 

More than likely, that was what Joyce and Hank wanted Buffy to think even though it wasn’t true.

“We were gonna watch a movie,” Buffy said quietly as she pulled away from her mom’s embrace. “Is it alright if the others stay for a bit?”

Joyce gave a small smile and nodded, tucking a strand of Buffy’s hair behind her ear. “Of course, sweetheart. I’m going to have to nip back to the gallery for a bit, but Rupert will be here if you need anything.”

With one last small smile at her mom, Buffy allowed Faith to lead her into the sitting room.

* * *

“How are you feeling?” Willow asked sympathetically as the credits on the movie rolled.

Buffy fixed her friend with a look at that question, not sitting up from where she was curled into Faith’s side.

“That bad, huh?” Xander said, seeing his friend’s look. “I get ya. Parents. Who’d want them, eh?”

An awkward silence descended over the group then, and none of them noticed Giles pausing in the foyer as he overheard them. He moved to the doorway, watching the teenagers in silence for a few moments as they picked at the snacks he’d given them for the movie, or occupied themselves with their phones.

“Everything alright in here?” he asked after a moment.

“We’re good,” Buffy said, giving him a small smile in response.

Giles nodded slowly at that, sensing the underlying sadness that had permeated the room. As much as he had been annoyed by the teenagers just a few hours ago, now he couldn’t help but wish they were still laughing and joking and messing about with water guns in the back garden. It would have been much more preferable to the melancholy that had since overtaken them.

“If you need anything,” Giles said then, and he hoped they realised he meant more than just asking for snacks, “I’m in the dining room.” 

He left them alone then, and the children watched him go with an odd sort of sadness.

“You know, Giles is an alright step-dad,” Xander said once the man in question had disappeared into the dining room. “Think your parents want to adopt me?” He gave a grin then, but all three girls knew that a part of him wasn’t really joking about the adoption thing.

“Do you think we should have a sleepover?” Buffy asked abruptly as she surveyed Xander. “I mean, we’ve already done the pizza and movie thing, why not make it a slumber party?”

Willow visibly brightened at that, grinning to herself. “That would be fun!” Her smile faltered a little then, and she added: “Honestly, I wasn’t much looking forward to being home all by myself. I mean, I’m fine with it, it’s not like I’m _scared_ or anything, but it’s just... Lonely.”

Xander let out a snort then. “I’d rather be alone in the house than home when my dad and my Uncle Rory have been at the alcohol. Let me tell you, Schnapps is not a fun drink where Rory Harris is concerned.”

Faith shook her head at that, jaw clenched. “We really won the lottery on the crappy parent front, didn’t we,” she grumbled, drawing all eyes to her. “I mean, if Will’s parents aren’t clearing off to some lecture or conference without her, Xander’s parents are drunk and abusive. Buffy’s dad only appears when he wants to, and my parents haven’t given a fuck about me since I was a kid.”

“Faith,” Buffy began uneasily, pushing herself into a more upright position. “Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Why not?” Faith snapped, eyes glinting with anger. “It’s the truth, isn’t it, B? God, your dad has a whole other life he didn’t even tell you about and that still makes him a better parent than mine or Harris’s.”

Willow and Xander had gone very quiet and very pale. Xander was glaring at the floor, shoulders tense and hands shaking. Willow was wide-eyed and looking liable to burst into tears at any given moment. Buffy swallowed thickly. 

“We’re not talking about... about crappy parents at a slumber party,” she said in the sternest tone she could manage with her shaking voice. “We’re going to, to have fun, and listen to music, and tell dumb scary stories until two in the morning, and then we’ll wake up and have pancakes for breakfast.” Her voice shook harder as she grew more upset, and she willed herself not to cry. “And, and, we’re not talking about how your parents left you as a kid, or how Willow’s parents are totally flaky, or Xander’s parents are abusive, or how my dad’s a complete asshole who clearly cares more about his new family than me-”

“Buffy.”

All four children looked round in surprise at the sound of Giles’s voice. He was in the doorway, a concerned frown on his face as he surveyed the wide-eyed, upset teenagers in front of him. 

“What’s going on?” he asked then, even though his facial expression looked like he’d overheard everything.

Buffy flushed red and said nothing. Willow and Xander did much the same. But Faith clenched her jaw in defiance.

“Just talking about shitty parents,” she said calmly, looking Giles directly in the eyes as though she dared him to tell her off for swearing. “B suggested we had a sleepover, you know, to try and forget about our crappy biological parents. ‘Cause apparently that’s what we do now. Whenever our parents fuck up, we come here and have a sleepover and pretend like we’re normal teenagers-”

“We’re not normal teenagers?” Willow interrupted with wide, confused eyes. She sounded a little alarmed at the news.

Faith rolled her eyes. “Normal teenagers don’t have parents who abandon them every other weekend, or who get drunk and throw things at them, or who walked out when they were kids, or get married without telling them, Willow. We’re _not_ normal.”

Willow looked more than a little distressed, and Giles moved into the room.

“I assume it was Hank’s visit that brought all of this on,” he said, and it was clear he knew the answer. He also sounded quite displeased.

“You should’ve let me punch him,” Faith said loudly, glaring at Giles.

“You’re not punching my dad!” Buffy protested, moving away from her girlfriend a little. Then her shoulders slumped. “Even if he got married without telling me.”

“It wouldn’t have been the wisest move,” Giles acknowledged. “And I hardly think it would solve this problem, would it?”

“It would make me feel better,” Faith countered.

Willow was still looking upset. “How are we not normal?” she asked in a small voice, blinking up at Giles. “Giles, you think we’re normal, right?”

Giles sighed, and moved to sit on the arm of the armchair. “I think you are four very extraordinary people,” he said carefully.

Xander snorted loudly at that. “That’s just a nice way of saying you think we’re all screwed,” he said angrily, and all three girls blinked at him in surprise. “Faith’s right; we’re not normal. Normal kids shouldn’t be worried about getting home to school to find that their parents are gonna be gone for a week without saying goodbye. Normal kids don’t go home wondering how drunk their dad’s gonna be, and what he’s gonna throw this time. Normal kids don’t have to be taken in by their friend’s parents just to not feel so alone. Just say it like it is, Giles. Our parents have royally screwed up our lives.”

“Xander-” Willow began cautiously, sounding like she was close to tears.

“No, Will. Do you know that my parents don’t even know that I’m here, in this house? I never told them Buffy’s address, ‘cause I’m sure as hell not risking my dad showing up drunk here and causing a scene, or worse trying to start a fight. When we came for a sleepover last time, the day you told Giles about my dad, I lied and said I was spending the night at your place. And that your parents were in town, because if my dad had thought we were in that house alone, he’d have shown up drunk accusing us of sleeping together. I can’t stop him from knowing your address, Will, but he’s sure as hell never finding out where Buffy or Faith live. So I don’t think it’s going too far to say he’s ruined my life.” 

Willow stared at him for a long while then, as did everyone else. Nobody seemed to be able to breathe, let alone find their voices.

“Ok,” Willow said after a long pause.

“Good,” Xander responded, and his shoulders sagged, like a great weight had been lifted.

Giles cleared his throat pointedly, drawing the attention back to him. “Well,” he said “as good as it is that Xander and Willow seem to have reached an agreement, that doesn’t exactly make this problem go away.” He gave Buffy a pointed look then. “Buffy, you do realise that you can come and talk to us about your dad any time?”

Buffy shrugged, fiddling with her phone rather than meeting Giles’s eyes. “You never like to talk about Dad,” she said quietly, as though that explained everything. “You and Mom just get all tense and quiet.”

“Your dad is a sensitive subject, yes,” Giles agreed slowly, “but your mother and I never meant to make you feel like you couldn’t talk to us about him.”

Buffy blinked, and gave Giles a tight smile. “I guess that never quite sank in,” she admitted awkwardly.

Giles smiled back, and turned his attention to the other children. “You three are welcome to come and talk to us too, you know.”

Faith scowled. “Look, G, I don’t really go in for all this ‘talk about your emotions’ crap. Gwen’s tried it a few times with me, and I didn’t like it. As nice as you and Joyce are, that’s not going to change.”

“Alright,” the man responded with a calm smile. “Nobody’s forcing anybody to do anything. I would never expect, or, or demand that you- any of you- tell me anything you’re not comfortable with. I’m simply offering to listen if you need someone to hear you out.”

“Oh.” Faith’s shoulders slumped a little as she frowned. “I guess that sounds alright. I’m not saying I’m _actually_ gonna talk to you though.”

“Yeah,” Xander agreed, looking a little confused too. “I don’t really know how to do the whole emotional talk thing. We’re not exactly big on that in the Harris family.”

But Willow was looking a little uncertain, shifting in her spot on the floor. “Uh, actually, _I think I_ might want to talk,” she admitted uncertainly. “Not, not right now! But... At some point?”

Giles gave the children another reassuring smile. “That’s all perfectly fine,” he assured them. “Now, I think you mentioned something about a sleepover?”

* * *

By the time Joyce arrived home from the gallery, Giles had taken Willow, Xander, and Faith to collect a change of clothes and their toiletries, and the children were once more messing around in the back yard. Joyce watched from the porch steps, and she smiled as her daughter came over.

“Sorry about Dad showing up uninvited,” Buffy said, wrinkling her nose as she reached her mom.

Joyce frowned. “Honey, that was hardly your fault. Unfortunately, your father can be a law unto himself at times.”

“I suppose so,” Buffy conceded uncertainly. She then took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was going to say next. “Why do you think he didn’t say anything before?About getting married, I mean. He must have been with this woman for a while, but he never even said anything.”

The older woman sighed and stepped down off the porch to hug her daughter. “I wish I knew, sweetheart. But only your dad can answer that question.”

“And it’s not like I’m gonna see him again anytime soon,” Buffy concluded bitterly as she pulled away slightly.

Joyce rubbed her daughter’s back. “You could call him. He gave you his card, right?”

“Yeah. But I don’t think I wanna call him. He had all those opportunities to call me, or see me, and he never did. And part of me thinks, yeah, maybe I should be the bigger person. But I don’t wanna be constantly chasing him down to get his attention, Mom. He didn’t even want me at his wedding. That pretty much tells me what he thinks about me being his daughter.”

“Honey-”

Buffy shrugged and met her mom’s eyes. “No, Mom. It’s ok. I... I have you and Giles. And maybe I will call Dad, at some point, but not right now.” She frowned. “I think I just need to be mad at him for a bit.”

Joyce gave a small smile, and tucked a strand of hair behind Buffy’s hair. “I think that’s acceptable. But remember you can come and speak to me, anytime.”

Buffy smiled. “Yeah. I know, Mom.” She glanced over her shoulder at her friends.

Realising she’d lost her daughter’s attention, Joyce stifled a smile, and nudged her daughter’s shoulder. “Go on. Go back to your friends. I’ll be inside if you need anything.”

Buffy blinked, and gave her mom a smile. “Ok.” She turned to leave, but paused, looking back at Joyce. “Love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, honey,” Joyce responded.

With a final, sunny smile, Buffy turned and headed back to her friends.


End file.
